Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $83,031,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $240.04. 748,692 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,282,345. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $59.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $252.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.18.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.